1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of video games, and specifically to methods and systems for displaying selectable advertisements or coupons linked to an asset within the video game. Further, the invention relates to methods and systems for detecting a mobile device and wirelessly communicating information related to the coupon and/or asset to the wireless device.
2. Background of the Invention
The continual advancement of computer processing power is evident in the field of computer based gaming. Processor intensive video games were once available only in standalone dedicated units manufactured for use in arcades. As computer processing capabilities advanced, the price of powerful processors and associated electronics such as memory, interface chips, and displays, decreased to a level that allowed processor based games to be produced for the consumer market.
Video game systems include a console system or core unit that includes a processor, memory (e.g., Random Access Memory), and audio visual subsystems such as a co-processor. The console system serves as a hub between the video display or monitor, various controllers (e.g., joy sticks and other user interface devices), and external memory devices containing the game software.
Originally, games were contained in external memory such as tapes, compact discs, DVD's, memory cards, etc. More recently, with the advent of the Internet, games can be downloaded over the Internet to the console system from external sources. Thus, the console system is interconnected to the Internet which is a source for a huge amount of ever changing content.
Another change in recent years is the emergence of multitudes of mobile and/or wireless devices including lap top computers, cell phones, smart phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and other mobile devices. Individuals are utilizing mobile devices for more and more of their every day tasks including shopping, calendars, scheduling meetings, receiving emails, etc.
Electronic commerce, or E-commerce, is becoming a larger and more important part of the economy as the Internet and mobile and wireless networks become more and more ubiquitous. Digital advertising is a very important part of E-commerce. One of the important variables in determining whether an E-commerce business succeeds is the amount of time that potential customers spend observing the digital advertising associated with the business. The longer a person sees an advertisement, the higher the probability that the advertisement will result in the person buying the asset that the advertisement is associated with.
Many people spend hours each day involved with console systems such as video games. Video games were originally static items in which all of the video and audio content was loaded into non-volatile memory that was then loaded into the game console. However, with the advent of the internet and with the increase in processing power of console systems, game content can be updated easily by downloading it from the Internet.
The time spent by people interacting with console systems has not been exploited in terms of electronic commerce. In addition, console systems have not typically exploited the proliferation of mobile devices through interaction with these devices.